Michael is a second year Civil Engineering student who has failed an assignment. You, his lecturer, commented that he had great answers but they were for the wrong questions. His spelling had a lot of unexpected errors such as 'stoped' for 'stopped' 'witch' for 'which' but he could spell quite complex technical words. The level of his written work has surprised you because during class discussions and practical sessions he has shown an excellent grasp of the concepts and what is required.

He said he found it hard to complete any written paper on time and organising his time was very difficult for him. He has trouble taking notes during lectures, listening and writing at the same time and cannot understand what he has written. Since it takes him such a long time to get through the lecture notes and written texts, he avoids studying them. He was hoping to specialise in Specialist Maths Methods, Physics and Chemistry and cannot see the point of writing reports. He is now thinking of dropping out as he is depressed, angry and frustrated about his progress even though he has no trouble understanding the content of the work and has excellent visual-spatial skills. He is not registered with the Disability Liaison Unit.